The present invention relates to a client/server system, and more particularly, to an automatic maintenance technique for automatically maintaining the client itself led by the client. Furthermore, the invention relates to a computer system to serve as a client in such client/server system.
Furthermore, the present invention relates to a computer system which, when used in a stand-alone state, when the user designates according to necessity at an optional time such as starting time, carries out self-maintenance.
In recent years, with the improvement in the performance of the personal computers, a client/server system has come to be used in general. Now, in the client/server system, initiated by the user's mis-operation or simple mis-setting of environmental conditions, the troubles affecting the whole network system are apt to occur. In such a case, it becomes impossible for the server to give maintenance instructions to the client. In such a case, during the time until the trouble is dissolved, it becomes impossible to perform the maintenance work itself, and there is an apprehension that the system goes into down state. As such apprehension becomes larger according to the increase in the number of the clients to be connected to the server, as the network system becomes larger, the loss in the economical aspect cannot be disregarded.
Furthermore, in the system like a client/server system to use a plurality of personal computers as clients and server, infection with computer virus has become a serious problem in recent years. Namely, when computer virus comes into one of the plural personal computers as clients of client/server system, the virus infects all clients and server through the network system, thereby inducing a grave loss. For this reason, in order to operate the client/server system comfortably, it is a matter of great importance that the system maintenance can be efficiently performed.
With respect to the maintenance of each client in the conventional client/server system, in general a so-called top-down system is adopted in which the user stores the information necessary for maintenance on the server so that the maintenance instructions are sent from the server. However, according to such a top-down system, basically the maintenance instructions are issued simultaneously to all clients connected to the server, so that the excessive loads are applied to the server and the transmission route on each maintenance work, and as all the clients are simultaneously put into non-operated condition while the maintenance work is in progress, there is a drawback that the capacity of the whole system is lowered.
As reviewed above, according to the conventional client/server system, maintenance work is required, and the time required for the work depends largely on the maintenance capacity of the server or the communication capacity of the transmission route. Furthermore, in case of a trouble, because the search into the cause thereof depends on the ability of the user or the maintenance worker, no quick recovery of the system can be expected, thereby troubling the maintenance worker.
In view of the situation as above, the inventors of the present application previously filed an application on an invention: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-272643(1996). According to the invention of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-272643(1996), briefly, the client is caused to be provided with the self-maintenance capacity, so that the individual client shall carry out self-diagnosis at the time of the switching ON of power, and only in case of the occurrence of trouble, only the necessary files are downloaded from the backup system of the client stored on the server to make self-recovering. In this manner, by having the individual client carry out maintenance of its own, a design is made that the loads of the server and the transmission route are reduced, probability of occurrence of system-down is decreased, and the capacity of the whole system is improved.
However, according to the invention of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-272643(1996), the system is run on the premise that the server, network, and network connection apparatus are normal. Accordingly, when a trouble occurs with the client and there are troubles simultaneously on the server, network, and network connection apparatus, then such a problem occurs that it becomes impossible for the client to make download of a file necessary for the maintenance from the server.
In the conventional client/server system, though it is a matter of course with a server, the situation where routine movement of the client takes place has not been considered. However, in recent years, it has come to be common in the enterprises that the workers carry personally portable personal computers for business use to use them as stand-alone-machines, thereby showing various kinds of information to the customers, and inputting the information obtained from the customers on the spot, and in the office the client is incorporated in a client/server system and used as a client for the network system, so that various kinds of business information can be received and the documents necessary for the business are exchanged as electronic information data. In such a style of use, for example, there may be a possibility for a trouble on the part of the client when the user is outside the office under the condition impossible to have connection with the server. In such a case, naturally the client cannot obtain the information necessary for maintenance from the server, and it cannot recover from the disorder, with the result that the business operation is inconvenienced.
The present invention has been made in the light of the situation as above. Straightforwardly, the first object of the invention is to provide a client/server system in which the back-up files necessary for the maintenance of the client are kept on both the server and the client, and in the case where the client carries out self-maintenance, when it is possible to be connected with the server, the back-up file is downloaded from the server, and version-up of the software is made to expect to make the whole resource common, and when it is impossible to be connected with the server, the back-up file held by itself is used to carry out maintenance independently, and to provide a computer system to become a client in such a system.
Further, in recent years, on one hand the individual computer system, namely, a personal computer, has come to possess multifarious functions with improvement of its performance, and improvement in operability and simplification have been promoted as represented by GUI (Graphical User Interface). However, along with it, in the inside of the system, hardware, software, etc. have become high leveled and complicated, and more time is required for their maintenance. As a result, starting from the user's mis-operation or a simple mistake in environmental setting or the like, a grave trouble may be induced to produce personal and time losses, and making the loss in economical aspect non-negligible. For this reason, in order to use the computer system represented by a personal computer comfortably, it is quite important that the system maintenance can be efficiently carried out.
Now, with respect to the maintenance in the conventional computer system, the user previously collects the information necessary for maintenance as backup information, so that the system recovering is made, as necessary, based on the backup information. However, in the recent high leveled and sophisticated computer systems as described above, because of the extreme enlargement of the system, it requires time directly proportional to the size of the system for the recovering work of the system based on the backup information, so that there is a problem that the user is caused to wait on each occasion.
Alternatively, there is a method to carry out the above recovering work by utilizing the environment setting function of the software. In such a case, it is necessary to have recovering made after specifying trouble by the user. Therefore, the user is required to have appropriate knowledge and ability, and the time required for recovering is dependent on the user's capacity.
As reviewed above, in the conventional computer system, the efficiency of the maintenance work is ruled by the capacity of the computer system itself, and time is required according to the size of the system. Furthermore, in case of the recovering work to be carried out after specifying the cause of the trouble, the result depends largely on the capacity of the user or the maintenance worker.
The present invention has been made in the light of the situation as above. Straightforwardly, the second object of the invention is to provide a computer system in which, at an optional time point in starting the computer system, the computer itself self-diagnoses the operating environment (hardware, firmware, software), and in case of abnormality as the result thereof, only the abnormal part is recovered according to the judgment of the computer system itself, thereby making it possible to reduce the time necessary for the maintenance work.